deep

Trying to find- in cooler and stained water- the sort of bass I want to fish for; failing thrice in a row; snagging and losing big baits and small jigs; and catching a few 2-3 lb class fish. (About the third pic; the ground was wet and the fish was calm enough to not thrash around.)

You could try fishing the bait with the reel; works pretty well for me (I use braid though).

Can you get a pair of waders and have a better casting angle maybe?

Koppers Live target. Whichever color I can find on sale as long it has a light colored belly.

Curado G's would be a good buy for ~$120. Citica D/E's and Curado B's may probably be found cheaper; and any of them should serve you just as well. EDIT: Apparently I misread your post. If you want to spend ~$120 for the rod AND reel; I'd try to find a used Curado B (goes for ~$70)/ Citica D (~$55) and spend the rest on the rod.

Have both; and they are both quality. But yes, they are intended for different purposes.

It's frustrating only if you don't know how/ when to use it. CA has a 3 hook rule. Look up Matt Allen's video on youtube. He talks about using 5 and 7 wire rigs.

It's not a "steal" for $100, but it's a good reel that will probably last you a long time with a little maintenance. The ones I have were bought used for $60-$70 each.

Caught a lil one today. She followed a slow-sink Mattlures hardgill almost back to the shore. I didn't have anything much better to do; so I gave that spot a rest for an hour, went back and deadsticked a floating hardgill hoping to catch her. She hit the bait less than 6 minutes after the ripples from the cast had died down. Typical summer fish from my reservoir; she had the frame of a 5 pounder; just a little too thin. 4 lbs 4 ozs on my Berkley digital.

No problems with the shock strength of Samurai. I use 30 lb on spinning and 55# and 80# on casting. Of course, I haven't managed to backlash the spinning setup yet; but haven't casted off a bait backalshing the 55 or the 80 yet; or broken off on a hookset on any of the three lb tests I use.

Great fish. Congrats on the new PB.

This. Or a Cardiff if you don't want to spend a lot. I have a few Cardiffs and they have served me well.

Amber! My low light glasses is an Ocean Waves Chicago (I think).

Shimano

If you're looking to get your "first" baitcaster, make you you get one that's easy to learn on. Some casting reels are more "finicky" than others (in my hands).

I don't think I have even one jig that has rattles. Maybe I'll try one someday.

Fish the 3 layers; this assuming you have located the fish and they're willing to bite.

This should help you get started. Mine has a clip at each end; one for the bass, one for tying the other end to a tree on the shore (or around one of my legs lol) to keep both hands free while fiddling with my tripod.

http://www.mikelongoutdoors.com/bass-handling/ http://www.mikelongoutdoors.com/prepared-for-a-record-catch/ Here are a couple of nice articles. Pretty sure I posted the links before, but a repost doesn't hurt. I guess I'm very (a little too much perhaps) passionate about big bass; but I believe if someone is good enough (or lucky enough) to catch these beautiful fish. he/ she should also be prepared to take care of them.

No longer than I can hold my breath is what I go by. Every shorebound angler should consider carrying a long stringer to keep the bass in the water while getting scale/ camera etc ready. The added advantage is you have both your hands free.

You'll get her the next time Jeff. Hope you find the kid, and he can keep on fishing.

Seems to be a fairly well-liked product in the big bait world; I think it's called trik-fish now.

That's how it works. You might want to put the mend-it on the tear, and hold it (the two sides of the tear) together for 15 seconds or so; and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Bait should be as good as new.

Sounds like you had a great time! Congrats.

Congrats on a very nice fish!